Weeding Made Easy: Tips & Tricks

Want to know how to get rid of weeds? If you’re in need of some tips and tricks to keep weeds out of your garden, then this is for you!

Weeding Made Easy: Tips & Tricks

Ask any gardener or homeowner who keeps to their garden about their least favorite gardening chore, and the answer will most likelky be – weeding. There is a whole industry of herbicides that offer only short-term solutions. Once the effect subsides, weeds keep growing back again and again. What remains is hand weeding, as a safe and environmentally friendly alternative. These gardening tips and tricks will show you how to weed easier and stop weeds from coming back.

Tip 1. Give it an early start

Weeding early in spring has multiple benefits. To start with, weeds are smaller and have weaker roots, making them easier to pull out. Also, the soil is wet, which makes it even easier. Removing weeds with root is important because certain species spread by rhizomes or tubers, instead by seeds. If you remove the weeds early, your plants will develop leaves that will shade the soil, making it difficult for weeds to grow back again.

Tip 2. Cut deep

When the soil dries out, pulling the weeds out complete with the root is near to impossible. Your best ally is a hawkbill linoleum or carpet knife. The hooked tip cuts deep in a single pulling motion, making the whole chore faster. In addition, linoleum knife is perfect for removing grass when you need to create a planting bed. If you don’t have time for full-scale weeding, you can at least prevent them from spreading by plucking the weed flower heads.

Tip 3. Choke the weed

Spreading 3 to 4 inches of mulch will smother all weeds, with no need for manual plucking or cutting. Make your own mulch by collecting wood chips, straw, leaves, pine needles or compost. Find out what mulch works best in neutralizing the pH in your soil. You don’t want to end up with alkaline or acidic garden because of the wrong mulch type. If you spread the mulch in autumn, the next year will be weed-free.

Tip 4. Weed harvest

If you have an acute weed infestation, the only way to deal with them is to clip them all. The key is having the right weeding tools that make clipping the leafy part of the plant easy. Repeated clipping doesn’t disturb the soil, but it depletes the weeds’ energy and causes them to whither. You can use a hoe, shears, a hand scythe or a specialized weeding tool to get rid of weeds.

Tip 5. No weed, no cry

Another green technique that is effective in fighting weeds is to leave them almost no space to grow. Plant the ground cover plants like rye, buckwheat or clover twice as close, and Uncle Weed soon won’t have enough place to hang his own hat. In addition, these plants will attract pollinating insects and restore valuable nutrients into the soil.

Tip 6. Dark Times

Weeds are a plant like any other, and they need sunlight to survive. That means they can be killed by denying them their sunlight. Sheets of wet newspaper, packing cardboards, old carpets or drapes are all equally effective. You can mask the light-blocking mat with mulch, so it doesn’t mar your garden appearance.

Although it is essentially a chore, you should always think of weeding as a means of relaxation after a stressful day at work. Your pet will certainly give its best to help you. So what are you waiting for?

Want to see more hand weeding techniques to try in your homestead? Then check out this video from iScraper1:

What do you think of these tips on how to get rid of weeds? Let us know in the comments section what your thoughts are on these gardening ideas. Will you give it a try? Let us know how it went and share your experience with us in the comment section below.

Have any homesteading projects you’d like to share? Share it with us and we’ll give it a try. We’d love to know what you think!

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